Section 1 - Sabbatical Leave Policy and Procedures

Section 1.1 - Purpose

The major purpose of a sabbatical leave is to provide faculty an opportunity for continued professional growth and new, or renewed, intellectual achievement through study, research, writing, creative work, and travel so that teaching effectiveness may be enhanced. For the purpose of this document the term "faculty" means full-time counselors, librarians and college professors whose primary responsibility is teaching. The number of sabbatical leaves is determined by the number of academic faculty positions in an institution. In evaluating proposals, the Personnel Committee is charged with the responsibility of making a determination as to how the sabbatical leave will enhance the faculty member's professional effectiveness.
Section 1.2 - Criteria to be Used in Awarding Sabbatical Leave
1. Two points will be given for every year of service since the last sabbatical leave. Years of service applicable for credit will be verified by the GBC Personnel Office.
2. Points not exceeding 20 will be given for the proposal's merit in terms of its immediate and practical value in meeting the objectives of the college, with particular attention to its value in helping the applicant perform his/her current duties.
3. Points not exceeding 15 will be given for the proposal's merit in contributing to the personal and professional growth of the person applying.
4. Points not exceeding 10 will be given for the proposal's merit as a contribution of general social value.
5. Points not exceeding 20 will be given for the likelihood that the conditions of the proposal can be met in the granted leave time.
Section 1.3 - Eligibility
1. Any tenured faculty member who has served full-time for six or more years at GBC without a sabbatical leave is eligible to apply for sabbatical leave.
2. Eligibility for sabbatical leave commences at the end of the semester in which the sixth full year of service at GBC is completed. A faculty member can apply during their sixth year of service at GBC. Only years of service at GBC will count toward sabbatical leave.
3. Accumulation of time at GBC toward the next sabbatical leave shall not begin until the date of completion of the prior sabbatical leave.
4. A faculty member who has resigned or has been terminated for reasons other than financial exigency or curricular reasons and subsequently rehired at GBC must have six full-time years of service from the time of rehiring.
5. Authorized leaves (teaching, formal education, work experience, personal, medical/emergency/maternal) will not break the continuity of service, but these years shall not be credited toward a sabbatical leave.
6. Any faculty member whose primary responsibility is administrative in nature is not eligible for sabbatical leave. (BoR 12/98).
7. Years spent in administrative work will not be credited toward sabbatical leave.
8. Short-term temporary contract supplements for special services, such as those for teaching summer session, shall not be considered in establishing the base for sabbatical leave.
9. A year will not count toward sabbatical leave if the individual spent 51% or more of his/her work time on administrative duties for that year.
Section 1.4 - Options

Eligible applicants for sabbatical leave shall have two alternatives: a full year of leave at two-thirds salary or one-half year of leave at full salary. Salary for a faculty member on sabbatical leave shall be calculated on the salary for the leave year. Faculty on sabbatical leave will be eligible for merit pay.
Section 1.5 - Applications
1. Applications shall be made using a Sabbatical Leave Application Form available in the GBC Personnel Office or online. All information and supporting documentation requested on the form shall be furnished by the applicant, whose responsibility it is to see that a complete application is submitted to the Faculty Senate Personnel Committee.
2. The completed application and all supporting materials called for in the application form must be properly prepared and filed by the application deadline (October 30) in the academic year prior to the effective date of the requested leave.
3. The Faculty Senate Personnel Committee will forward the applications and its recommendations to the appropriate Vice President.
Section 1.6 - Rights of Faculty on Sabbatical Leave
1. The taking of a sabbatical leave shall in no way interfere with the continuing employment of an individual by the college, with any possible promotion or salary increases, or with any other rights normally associated with work at the college. Sabbatical leave, in some cases, may reduce retirement benefits. Persons taking sabbatical leave may wish to check with the Personnel Office in this regard.
2. Additional income, for example, grants-in-aid or fellowships, may be accepted during the leave provided the activity for which the income is received contributes to the individual's professional development or his/her future usefulness to the college (BoR 1/92).
Section 1.7 - Obligations of Faculty Who Take Sabbatical Leave
1. The most important obligation of a sabbatical leave recipient is to make every effort to accomplish the tasks set out in the application. If circumstances occur prior to the start date of the sabbatical which make it impossible to fulfill the approved sabbatical proposal the recipient will be expected to either relinquish the awarded sabbatical and perform normal duties during that year or to request authorization from the Senate Personnel Committee to proceed with an alternative project. If the Personnel Committee is not available, authorization should come from the appropriate academic administrator.
2. Upon completion of the sabbatical leave, the recipient must return to college duties for a period of time at least equal to that of the last annual contract prior to sabbatical leave.
3. A written report of sabbatical leave activities shall be submitted to the appropriate vice president. This report must be submitted by June 30 of the end of the sabbatical year. The report should address the proposal in the application for leave, describe what was accomplished, explain the current status of the project, and future status if applicable. It may also describe other professional accomplishments during the time of the leave.
  It will be the task of the appropriate Academic Administrator to assess whether the sabbatical report is satisfactory.
4. Acknowledgement of sabbatical assistance shall be given in any publications, performances, or other professional activities accomplished during the sabbatical or as a result of it.
5. A signed sabbatical leave application shall constitute acceptance of all obligations on the part of faculty taking sabbatical leave.
Section 1.8 - Sabbatical Leave Committee
1. The Personnel Committee of the GBC Faculty Senate is the Sabbatical Leave Committee.
2. Applicants for sabbatical leave may not serve on the Personnel Committee during the year of the application.
Section 1.9 - Procedures of Sabbatical Leave Committee
1. All deliberations of the committee shall be confidential.
2. Sabbatical leave applications are available in the GBC Personnel Office or online. These applications must be submitted to the Chair of the Personnel Committee by 5:00 p.m., October 30.
3. The committee shall, after thorough deliberations during which all applications are reviewed in detail, send forward to the Vice President with copies to the President and the Faculty Senate Chair, the recommendation for sabbatical leave. It is the responsibility of the President of GBC to notify the successful applicants within one week upon receiving the recommendation from the Personnel Committee.
Section 1.10 - Responsibilities of the President
1. The President shall be responsible for making sabbatical leave recommendations to the Board of Regents by the required meeting date in the year prior to the academic year during which leave is desired.
2. Whenever the President's recommendations to the Board of Regents deviate from those of the committee, the changes shall be justified to the chair of the Personnel Committee before the President makes his recommendations to the Board of Regents concerning sabbatical leaves.
3. The President shall notify those awarded sabbatical leave by the Board of Regents as soon thereafter as possible. Those applicants not being awarded sabbatical leave will also be notified by the President.
Section 1.11 - Responsibilities of the Faculty Senate Concerning Sabbatical Leaves

The Faculty Senate shall select new members of the Personnel Committee from the faculty at large at any time vacancies occur. It shall also select each year a chair of the committee.